Event Horizon
by Armored System
Summary: The Valley of the End is a changing point in the lives of many, but what happens when Sasuke isn't quite as successful as he might have liked?


Event Horizon

Armored System Productions

Set Following the Battle at the Valley of the End

"Leaving so soon, Uchiha?"

The words were the only warning the Sasuke received, preceding the engulfing wave of sand by a mere fraction a second. The mobile dune swept over the battered genin, sweeping him off his feet, and pressing him, ungently, into the hard ground below. Arms pinned, a crushing weight being exerted upon his chest, and an inability to breath through the grainy medium brought unconsciousness to the cursed boy with remarkable speed.

Immediate threat taken care of, the Desert Coffin crumbled, sand returning to the gourd on Gaara's back even as the boy walked forward to stand over another still form, before quickly kneeling down next to it to exam the extent of the damage.

Badly bruised, with a multitude of abrasions, and the mother of all holes through his chest. Blood and orange fabric mixed freely and pooled around the body, eyes closed. The heaving, however, told the sand nin all he needed to know. Naruto would, in all likelihood, live. Perhaps not comfortably, at least not for awhile, but Gaara had little doubt he would pull through.

Sand once again snaked around his body, tightening and compressing, before a glob detached itself and fixed itself over the sucking chest wound on Naruto's chest and halting the blood flow, even as the rest of the sand lifted him and did the same ot the other side.

"Stupid Uzumaki." Gaara commented, to no one in particular. "Stupid Gaara.," he added, Looking into the closed eyes of the now upright boy.

He had arrived in time to see the final blow, if not in time to assist. He had watched the blonde haired shinobi had tried to shift his aim, from what would have been a fatal chest blow to a mere headache inducing glance upon Sasuke's forehead protector. Sasuke had no such reservations.

The sight had filled Gaara with an odd sort of horrified detachment, as the traitor gutted the leaf nin. He had killed dozens, possibly hundreds, in his relatively life and detachment from emotions was nothing new. Especially given the odd, at turns parasitic and symbiotic relationship with Shukaku. But this bit of out of body TV watching had been different from all the others.

Grief rushed into the void. Anger. Hatred. Not in and of themselves unusual feelings for the sand gaoler; his life had consisted of little else up to that point. But it was not anger for himself. It was anger at the unjustness of the scene before him, hatred that he had not been able to assist his friend. It was grief for another. Empathy.

And at the moment Gaara wanted nothing more than to slap Naruto around for it. He knew why the blonde had done what he had done, but heaven help him if he wasn't pissed at the end results. He never knew friends could be so frustrating.

Sighing resignedly, the sand leveled itself off, keeping Naruto elevated and reclined a few feet from the ground, and started forward.

He paused and almost as an afterthought, sent a small ball of desert backwards, which flexed, fastened itself around Sasuke's wrist like cuffs, and proceeded to drag him along as ungently as possible, legs trailing on the ground and banging into whatever impeded their progress. Gaara smirked slightly, before vanishing back into the forest.

* * *

The aftermath of the mission was not pretty. Four genin teams were effectively out of commission. One of those was probably entirely unsalvageable, regardless of injuries.

Hyuuga Neiji was lapsing in and out of consciousness, suffering from a severe concussion in addition to numerous internal and external injuries. The doctors were hopeful, but were mildly concerned about the possibility of brain damage. He hadn't been breathing when the ANBU team found him, though they managed to perform CPR successfully.

Akimichi Chouji, though only injured superficially physically was in a coma, suffering from a body gone crazy; while he had managed to survive taking the third pill, it had sent his system into overdrive; his metabolism had become cannibalistic and the glands responsible for producing adreneline, seratonin, and growth hormone had gone completely haywire. The doctors were not optomistic.

Inazuka Kiba was awake, but almost in a full body cast. Several compound fractures, combined with exhuastion and emotional trauma wasn't good for anyone. The emotional damage was brought about by the fact that his companion, the dog Akamaru, had slipped into some sort of catatonic state, failing to respond to the outside world. While Kiba was expected to make a full recovery, the family Vets had to be content with praying and keeping their fingers crossed for the smaller, furrier half of the duo.

Rock Lee was treated for alcohol poisoning, excessive stress on his gate system, and bruising. He was released the same day as he entered, though was forced to attend a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous as a preventive measure.

Nara Shikamaru had his finger put into a cast and minor lacerations bandaged, though he was sent to a grief councilor after showing symptoms of survivors guilt; the psychologist pronounced him fit for duty after two sessions.

Uzumaki Naruto was treated for three broken ribs, a broken arm, fractured leg, fractured skull, two more _missing, presumed obliterated_ ribs, two shattered spinal vertebra, missing an entire chunk of his stomach, damage caused by the release of stomach acid into his system, and a punctured lung, in addition to myriad other, smaller injuries. His survival was attributed to the healing abilities granted him by his tenant, and it is thought that he would have survived without treatment provided he had managed to staunch the bleeding from his wound.

Tsunade and the medical staffed had watched in a sort of horrified stupefaction as they had determined the extent of the wound, and tried to determine how the boy was still alive. Eventually, it was determined that the Fox had managed to expend its chakra to keep the boy alive, forcibly keeping neurons firing and systems running through sheer force of will and energy. It had already begun to heal its gaoler slowly, but the strain on its abilities was too much for it to perform any sudden miracles. It wasn't until Tsunade began to apply her own healing abilities, and attempt to take care of some of the more serious damage that the Kyubi was able to lend any of its more miraculous abilities. Naruto was expected to make a full recovery in time. At the current rate, the doctors figured he would be out for another week, and bedridden for at least two after that. On a side note, after the initial crisis was over, Tsunade hypothesized that nothing short of a full system collapse, decapitation, or extreme exsanguination would be able to kill the nin if given proper time to recover.

Uchiha Sasuke was treated, under ANBU guard, for a broken rib, lacerations, and a mild concussion brought about by the glancing Raesengan. Additionally, Tsunade surgically removed as much of Orochimaru's mark as she could from the boy's neck, followed by Jiraya placing another seal around the removal point. It was hoped that, with the actual physical part of the seal removed, and then sealed again, that the majority of Cursed Mark's influence would wain, though they doubted it would dissapear completely.

Meanwhile, there was a call for blood in the air. The general public knew about the debacle; when the survivors had been rushed through the gate, many had seen their condition. That the last 'loyal' Uchiha had tried to turn traitor was also common knowledge, at this point. The townspeople, the Council, the Jounin team leaders, all wanted to see a culprit identified.

The Hokage was never a possible target. She had given the mission when no other option presented itself, and had no way of knowing that they would be so heavily opposed by the Sound Four and Kimmimaro. Shikamaru was also passed over; he did what he had to do to see the mission completed.

The obvious target was Uchiha Sasuke, for his traitorous actions, with blame shared perhaps by Hatake Kakashi, since the rogue was under his command.

Almost everyone agreed that the Uchiha was at fault. It wasn't under debate. The severity of the punishment, however, was. The effects of the cursed seal had to be taken into account. It would definitely be a mitigating factor. Already, there were those calling for indemnification under the circumstances, or a simple slap on the wrist and fine. Those were extreme cases, but they were still present.

Far more troubling were those that called Uzumaki Naruto another 'mitigating factor', and called for steps to be taken against him. To many, Sasuke's defection was a symptom of the Kyuubi, corruption tainting an otherwise perfect example of Hidden Leaf and helped along by Orochimaru. Or Orochimaru helped along by the Kyuubi. How many actually believed that to be the case, or how many just wanted a scapegoat to keep their poster-boy image of Sasuke, or how many just wanted to strike out against the demon vessel wasn't clear; there were enough not to be easily ignored, regardless.

So gears were set in motion. Plans, as required, were formulated in dark, smoke filled back rooms. Hushed whispers were . . . well, hushed. All in all, it was a time of uncertainty for Hidden Leaf. And after the condition of the wounded genin had been stabilized, there was little any could do except wait for the seeds sown to be reaped.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi was a man beset by changes. In short order, his world view had been flipped on its head. Twice.

The revelation of Neiji's feelings had been the starting point. He had never bothered to consider the effects of his brother's death on the boy, and, had the Uzumaki not brought it to light and subsequently beat the resentment out of him, Hiashi had little doubt that Neiji would eventually have pulled an Itachi.

This in turn triggered another world shaking shift. In his subsequent attempts to mend fences with his nephew, he had come to realize how he had been treating his own family. Though Neiji was damaged through neglect, upon reflection, it was a far better course than the one he had been subjecting Hinata too, and possibly Hanabi. Working to make his clan strong, he had, he realized, perhaps done quite the opposite. He was pitting sister against sister and branch against main, and a clan divided was hardly a clan at all.

This realization was one he had not yet had time to act upon in the confusion surrounding the death of the Third, Tsunade's induction, and the events surrounding the Uchiha boy. He had first had to deal with the more pressing matters presented by those events, before setting his own family back in order. Perhaps it was the wrong approach, but it was what he felt he had to do.

So when the messages and whispers of a plot against Uzumaki Naruto first came to his ears, as all such things inevitably did, he had to stop and take stock. He had never truly considered the boy a threat. A clanless brat, maybe, but no different than any other orphan. Neglect had been his only crime towards him, neglect of a debt the entire village owed but few would own up to.

And now, as he sat in his study and pondered the situation, he realized that he owed the boy on a personal level, as well. For the changes he had set in motion in his clan, for the opening of his eyes.

Hiashi sighed, before clapping his hands twice. At the sound, the shoji door slid silently open, a clansman awaiting directions.

"Request the Hokage's presence at her earliest possible convenience. Inform her that there are rumors about her . . . son . . . that she might wish to hear. And bring me Elder Aoshi. I wish to consult with him about the possibilites of a clan alliance."

The retainer bowed, and scampered off.

Several blocks away, Naruto Uzumaki slept on, oblivious to the plans set in motion both for and against his behalf.


End file.
